Netanya Surpasses Rishon Lezion to Become Fourth Largest Israeli City by Population

According to data from the Population and Immigration Authority, Netanya has overtaken Rishon Lezion in population size, now ranking as Israel's fourth largest city. Netanya's population stands at 289,121, just slightly above Rishon Lezion's 289,116 residents. The top three cities remain Jerusalem with 1.12 million people, Tel Aviv-Yafo with 601,000, and Haifa with 344,000. The figures include all registered residents, even Israelis living abroad who remain registered at their last Israeli address, which inflates the numbers compared to the Central Bureau of Statistics' estimates of actual residents. However, the ranking remains valid as both sources use consistent methodologies.

Demographically, Netanya has a higher proportion of children and youth under 18 (25.0%) compared to Rishon Lezion (22.8%), and also a larger share of seniors aged 65 and over (22.0% versus 21.1%). Conversely, Rishon Lezion has more residents in the prime working ages of 19 to 45 (96,584 versus 90,845 in Netanya) and also leads in the 46 to 64 age group. This demographic split reflects different municipal needs, with Netanya requiring more services for young families and the elderly, while Rishon Lezion focuses more on employment, transportation, and housing.

Nationally, population concentration is high, with 35.2% of Israelis living in just ten municipalities, while most of the country's 1,292 localities have fewer than 2,000 residents. The median locality size is 934 people. Israel's age structure is notable internationally, with 31.0% under 19 years old and only 14.9% aged 65 or older. Extremes exist among large cities, such as Modiin Illit with 59.2% youth and only 1.4% seniors, and Bat Yam with 27.9% seniors, nearly double the national average.

The Population and Immigration Authority's registry counts 10,996,849 residents, about 700,000 more than the Central Bureau of Statistics' estimate of 10.3 million, due to the inclusion of Israelis living abroad. This difference is definitional rather than erroneous. The full report was originally published by Bizportal.